Marilyn Minter

Speaking of controversy, fashion advertising, and blurred lines of sexuality (you can tell what's on my brain, right?)...
I wanted to devote a post to a very unique contemporary artist, Marilyn Minter.

Twins (?)

Marilyn Minter, who is 61, has shot fashion photography, was commissioned to shoot nude photography for one of Pamela Anderson's planned weddings (it never actually happened, but the set was made by Minter into an art show), and has had her artwork featured on skateboard decks.  She is quite an interesting lady, in my opinion.

Stuffed, 2003

Marilyn Minter has had her artwork bashed by feminist groups for her early work in the late 80s'-early 90s' for its basis in hardcore pornography.  Minter's aim was to highlight the absurdity of such pornography, but to some, this was not as apparent as she had hoped.

Gold Tip, 2009

Minter's work is all at once both subtle yet glaringly obvious commentary on the fashion world, advertising, and the immense over-sexualization of our culture.  Her work shows the illusion of beauty, the imperfection of the seemingly perfect, the sexuality of what at face value is not sexual, and the disturbing nature of our frequent objectification of women.  All wrapped into the shiny package of her art.

Fuzzy Pam, 2007

Minter works from photographs, editing and manipulating them on the computer at least 80 different times to convey the sort of feeling she wants her viewers to feel.  Then the image is applied to metal plates magnanimous in scale, painted on by her "team"--her apprentice-type workers of her workshop, which she lives above.

Amoeba, 2008

Minter's work is fascinating in that it is aesthetically pleasing, yet also disturbing.  The images we see are glossy, bright, glittery, colorful.  Yet the expensive heels we see on perfectly pedicured feet are dynamically splashing in mud.  The crimson painted lips we see spill strings of pearls like vomit.  The tip of an extended tongue appears to be dipped in metallic gold paint.  These images first attract us, then shake us, then force us to ask ourselves, "why?"  After all, in subject matter, what we are seeing is not obscene, yet in our minds, it registers as such.  And then maybe, hopefully, after critical analysis of these multi-media works, we make the connection that these images are so similar to those of popular advertising.

More on Marilyn Minter:
NY Times - "The Gimlet Eye"
The Whitney
Green Pink Caviar - Minter's 8 min film
NY Mag